2016 was not the most successful year for Latvia’s economy, mostly due to uncertainty in external markets. Even though at the beginning of the year Latvia’s growth figures were projected at around 3%, in reality Latvia’s GDP increased by only 1.6% last year.

Latvia has achieved remarkable economic progress in dealing with the impact of the global financial crisis. Macroeconomic disproportions have been significantly reduced, Latvia’s current account deficit and public finances are stable, and its government debt is among the lowest in the European Union (EU).

Foreign direct investment in equity, reinvested earnings and other forms of capital has grown rapidly since Latvia regained its independence in 1991 until the rates of growth slowed because of the financial crisis. However, in the first nine months of 2011, the volume of foreign direct investment was almost three times higher than the total foreign direct investments in all of 2010. The lion’s share came from Russia and the CIS, facilitated by changes in the Law on Immigration, which allowed for